I-glasses HRV

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If you have the right connections, the i-glasses HRV from i-O Display Systems Ltd. of Sacramento, Calif., can be a lot of fun, and perhaps a useful business tool. The display looks like a giant pair of sunglasses. Although it only weighs seven ounces, it feels heavy when you wear it.

You plug the glasses into either an RCA or an S-Video jack and two tiny monitors inside the glasses flare to life. The illusion is that you are looking at a giant screen since the image is so close to your eyes. It would be nice if the i-glasses had a few more inputs, like a standard monitor cable. Some companies are starting to put an S-Video port on their notebooks, but only Sony to my knowledge has RCA ports on their desktops.

There are a couple of good things about the i-glasses HRV that other similar systems don't have. For one, the signal is the same for both eyes, there are no syncing tricks used with the image. That means that even a person with sight in only one eye can use the device, whereas I have seen other devices that are unusable for someone with that condition. Also, there is a lot of space on both sides of the screen. You can look out and see where you are.

This makes the images less realistic, but it does reduce the headaches and eyestrain that most people experience when using similar devices for long periods of time.

The speakers, which rest on either side of the screen, offer amazing stereo sound to complement the high-resolution images.

The i-glasses HRV is a nice display for people with vision problems, and could even offer secure viewing in a public place if needed, though you might look a bit odd with the contraption on your head. From a pure pleasure point of view, it makes movies'especially ones played from a DVD player'very fun to watch. So it might make your next cross-country flight a lot quicker.